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A campaign Led by International Disability Alliance (IDA) and International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) that calls for more leadership from the United Nations to ensure COVID-19 measures include people with disabilities.

Recording of the Virtual Event: COVID-19 & Promoting the Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities

On April 8, 2020, IDA in collaboration with the EDF held the Virtual Event: COVID-19 crisis and Promoting Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities. The virtual event with 572 registered participants was an effort to provide space and prevent any loss of momentum in promoting the rights of women and girls with disabilities in the global gender equality agenda.

During the webinar, the panelists have discussed various topics ranging from the inclusion of women and girls with disabilities into mainstream gender mainstreaming strategies, multiple forms of discrimination faced by women and girls with various forms of disability, and the impact of the current pandemic on their well-being.

Humanity & Inclusion inclusive governance approach fits in with the governments (national, regional and local) context, governments are in charge of the response to the crisis. In these types of contexts, humanitarian actors do not have the leadership and mandate to make decisions. Governments are creating policies in response to Covid-19 and must include persons with disabilities as equal citizens within their response frameworks.

Key messages :

DO NO HARM: Protect yourself and your family, staff, partners and of course the beneficiaries.

Work closely with other stakeholders and ensure coordination in the response is happening at all levels

Follow HI’s guidelines and the guidance from the national and local authorities regarding COVID 19 at all times.

Recent evidence suggests that the individual prevalence rate of persons with disabilities living in Syria, aged 12 years and above is 27%. This brief guidance note covers: Risks faced by persons with disabilities in the COVID-19 outbreak; Protection risks for specific groups of persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 outbreak; Upholding the rights of persons with disabilities in relation to the COVID-19 response; and Recommendations: Inclusion in the COVID-19 response

Evidence is emerging that persons with disabilities are being disproportionately affected by the Coronavirus pandemic and emergency measures being taken by governments worldwide. As governments rush to respond to the virus, it is more critical than ever to guarantee that measures taken are fully inclusive of persons with disabilities and prevent human rights violations from taking place.

With the endorsements of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Mr Dainius Pūras, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Ms Catalina Devandas Aguilar, a coalition of six disability rights organisations is today launching a major international monitoring initiative entitled “COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor” to conduct rapid independent monitoring of state measures concerning persons with disabilities. The first element of this global initiative is the launch of two surveys requesting official information from governments and requesting the testimonies of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations. The surveys aim to collect information about what states are doing to protect core rights of persons with disabilities including the rights to life, access to health and essential services.

Extra efforts required by governments to protect the rights of people with disabilities in the COVID-19 pandemic are highlighted particularly in areas of information, institutions, self isolation, education and refugee camps.

This document provides recommendations for rapid response solutions for federal and state governments to close the real and anticipated gaps in the COVID-19 outbreak and public health emergency-related continuity of operation for people with disabilities, older adults, and people with access and functional needs. Our recommendations include contingency plans for disability and aging services, supports, and programs funded directly with federal or state funds or through federal assistance to state, local, tribal and territorial governments and non-government providers.

In view of the pandemic situation due to the outbreak and rapid spread of COVID19 across the world, the public health has been endangered both nationally and internationally, necessitating urgent measures on the part of both the Central and State Governments, aimed at containing the spread of the disease. The Government of India has declared the situation arising out of COVID 19 as a National Disaster and necessary guidelines have been issued under the National Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Information and practical guidance to support gender-based violence (GBV) practitioners to integrate attention to disability into GBV prevention, risk mitigation and response efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic are given.

This paper brings together guidance and messages from the ICRC’s Operations Diversity Inclusion, Sexual Violence and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse teams, in collaboration with the Global Adviser on Children. Its purpose is to support the ICRC’s delegations and métiers in their response to COVID-19. The guidance focuses on the initial phases of the response, including contingency planning, adapting and possibly scaling back current activities and strengthening and establishing new activities and partnerships to respond to the virus in the humanitarian contexts in which it works

International humanitarian law (IHL) is a key legal framework that provides crucial safeguards to people affected by armed conflicts. This overview summarizes some of the main provisions of IHL that may be particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic

The extent of the effect of poverty and social exclusion on persons with disabilities in the EU was examined

The report shows how, in all EU countries, persons with disabilities are more likely to be poor and unemployed than persons without disabilities. It presents actions that the EU, it's Member States and other European Countries should take to improve the situation.

The Bond Disability and Development Group (DDG) has commissioned this learning paper to summarise discussions which took place at the DDG’s Data Lab workshop, held in London on 22 October 2019, and to be used as a reference document going forward. This first workshop focused on why organisations need to collect disability data; what tools are available and practical ways in which these can be used. This learning paper provides a summary of these discussions and can act as a guide and reference tool for organisations looking to be more inclusive in their programming, generally, and in their data collection practices, specifically. A number of case studies and numerous resource references are provided.

Entering its fifth year, the conflict in Yemen, which has been marked by serious violations and crimes under international law, has had a disproportionate impact on persons with disabilities. Based on 96 interviews, this report documents how the war has affected the ability of 53 persons with disabilities, 31 of whom were displaced, to access and equally enjoy their human rights. This report documents how persons with disabilities have endured unequal access to quality health services, education and employment opportunities as well as the challenges they face fleeing violence and living in displacement

Two advocacy tools associated with the new African Union (AU) Protocol to the Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities have been developed: what is new for African women and girls with disabilities; and what is new for African children, youth and older people with disabilities. The new protocols are localised, progressive, intersectional and gender inclusive

The tools are available in short from (2 pages) or long form (4 pages) which provide details of the specific rights articles and definitions

Making It Work developed the new advocacy tool with COVAW, FIDA-Kenya and UDPK

The extended family as a potential cause of and protection against intimate partner violence (IPV) remains relatively unstudied. This mixed-methods study used focus group discussions (FGDs) and a clinic-based survey to investigate several family-based risk and protective factors associated with women's risk of IPV in Jordan. Seventeen FGDs (total number of participants = 105) were conducted with women in Amman. Each transcript was coded for categories using open coding methodology and mapping. Relevant categories and subcategories were family support, family interference, family abuse, exposure to violence in childhood, and place of residence. For the survey, systematic probability proportionate to size methodology was used to select a sample of 517 literate, ever married, women from seven reproductive health clinics located throughout the country (response rate = ≤70%); due to missing data, the analytic sample was restricted to 418 women. Measures assessed the categories mentioned above. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to examine the relationship between IPV and the main predictors of interest (residence, family interference, family violence, exposure to violence as a child, and family support). The combined results of the FGDs and the survey demonstrated that the respondent's husband's exposure to violence in childhood and violence perpetrated by other family members were risk factors for IPV. Family interference was also significantly related to IPV but only when the respondent identified the interference as harmful to her relationship. Residence with the respondent's in-laws demonstrated mixed effects. A supportive family was protective against IPV, although the FGDs revealed that families were not always an effective source of assistance. Findings demonstrate the continued role of the wife's and husband's kin in women's risk of IPV in Jordan, highlighting the importance of a broader view of the context of IPV.

The Security Council adopted its first-ever resolution calling upon Member States and parties to armed conflict to protect persons with disabilities in conflict situations and to ensure they have access to justice, basic services and unimpeded humanitarian assistance.

By the terms of resolution 2475 (2019), the 15-member Council called upon all parties to armed conflict to allow and facilitate safe, timely and unimpeded humanitarian access to all people in need of assistance. It further urged them to prevent violence and abuses against civilians in situations of armed conflict, including those involving in killing and maiming, abduction and torture, as well as rape and other forms of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations.